


i love thus i care

by teaspoonery (quodpersortem)



Category: Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Illness, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 04:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13115823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quodpersortem/pseuds/teaspoonery
Summary: (livejournal re-post fromhere; mine)rating: pgword count: 790colin falls ill after having been on a date with rupert. this means rupert goes in for some serious pampering. hurt/comfort for (lj user odalique). set in the you're the peanuts to my butter 'versedate: 2010-05-03





	i love thus i care

“Fuck,” Colin moans when he collapses on the bed the moment they get back to the hotel room. They just got back from dinner at an expensive restaurant – Rupert’s idea – and now Colin’s eaten something he shouldn’t have had. While he curls in on himself on the bed, holding his stomach tightly while his eyes are closed, tears shimmering in the corners, Rupert puts away their coats first and then gets a bucket from the bathroom.  
  
He puts it next to the bed and looks at Colin for a while, who moans and tries to find the position that bothers him the least. He does love Colin a lot, and would probably do anything for him, but cleaning up a hotel room because someone mightn’t be able to hold down their dinner isn’t one of his hobbies.   
  
It isn’t the first time he has seen Colin like this, so he kind of knows how to treat his, well,  _boyfriend_. He’d spent the day on set in silence, refusing to talk to anyone and focusing fully on his scenes. Rupert had been at a loss about what to do, so in the end he’d given up on trying to make contact with Colin. When he finally mustered up the courage to stop by Colin’s hotel room after dinner, afraid that it was his fault, that he’d done something wrong, he found Colin in bed; sick and miserable and horribly in need of some serious pampering.  
  
Rupert then returns to the bathroom, wetting a wash cloth with cold water because Colin looks so sweaty. Back on the bed he helps the younger man get out of his damp shirt, and throws it on the floor. Then he starts to rub soothing circles with the washcloth onto Colin’s back, washing away the rapidly returning sweat and making him shiver slightly. Colin still holds his stomach as if something is trying to crawl out of it, nearly crying and occasionally moaning in pain, and it makes Rupert’s stomach clench with something entirely different.  
  
“It’ll be fine,” he whispers in Colin’s ear anyhow, not sure whether he’ll hear it. Rupert isn’t sure whether he believes it, not when he looks at Colin acting this way. He remembers the last time it happened and thinks to himself sternly that, yes, Colin will definitely be fine. It just takes some time. Then he presses three, four kisses to Colin’s back and strokes his hand through the damp mop of black hair. It seems to let Colin relax a little so Rupert continues, whispering in Colin’s ear and turning around the wash cloth every now and then, sometimes slipping it up to his lover’s neck or forehead, until his breathing finally calms down and the arms gripping his stomach relax.  
  
Eventually, when Rupert is quite sure Colin has fallen asleep, he puts away the wash cloth. Then he further undresses Colin, whose skin shows goose bumps and doesn’t sweat as badly anymore, and tucks him in. After that he borrows one of Colin’s books and lays down next to him on the bed, atop of the covers. Colin craws closer to him in his sleep and Rupert kisses his forehead, smiling as he does so. Even when Colin is sick, he is beautiful. Even when he is sick, his presence conjures the wildly fluttering and protective feeling in Rupert’s stomach.  
  
When Colin shakes him out of his sleep later that night, right past midnight, his eyes are bleary and his voice is uncertain. Rupert wipes his thumb over Colin’s cheek, glad to see some more colour on it, and goes to get a glass of water and the painkillers Colin requested. He stays awake until long after Colin has dozed off into sleep again, wondering whether anybody else knows about these nights Colin must go through regularly. He knows the younger man hates being unprofessional, and considers this to be exactly that as he believes it takes down the quality of his acting (those are Colin’s word though, not Rupert’s because Rupert has never  _ever_  thought Colin did a bad job of his work). It also means he prefers not to let anyone know about this.  
  
The next day, back on set, he keeps wanting to be near Colin and tries to do so often as possible, checking his temperature with a hand to his forehead. Colin laughs at him and swats away the hands, telling Rupert everything is fine again,  _honestly_. And Rupert can’t do anything but believe Colin, because the colour has returned to his cheeks and he eats all of his lunch. Secretly, Rupert likes to think it is because he took care of Colin last night, that a bit of love made him feel better just a bit sooner.


End file.
